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The Mostly True Story of Jack Audiobook (Unabridged)
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(3.01) - 908 listener ratings
Publisher Description
When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for a long time....
When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends - not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.
The Mostly True Story of Jack is a tale of magic, friendship, and sacrifice. It's about things broken and things put back together. Above all, it's about finding a place to belong.
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"This had the feel of the best of Neil Gaiman, which puts it in a pretty elite class of Newbery caliber books. One of the things I particularly liked was the fact that Jack had times when he WASN'T a character I empathized with. It emphasized his "other-ness". I also loved the imagery of the plants. One of my favorite parts was when the bully gets caught crying- I love it when the seemingly one-dimensional characters reveal a complexity. I don't want to give out any spoilers, so I will stop. I teach middle school and have recommended this to a number of kids."
— Elizabeth (5 out of 5 stars)
The Mostly True Story of Jack (Unabridged) Listener Reviews
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" This one was really good, involving a little bit of magic, but not so much to exactly call it fantasy....I really wished the story had ended later. I didn't like the ending very much, but overall it was great. "
— Elizabeth, 2/11/2014 -
" Good read...if I was a 12-13 yr old....this would keep me interested... "
— Debra, 1/25/2014 -
" I know people have been raving about this book. I liked it, but I didn't think it was great. The reaveal took too long for my tastes and at the end I wasn't satisfied. "
— Bridget, 1/12/2014 -
" I read this aloud to my 7 year old and 9 year old sons. The 7 year old lost interest by my 9 year old was so excited to get back to it. I felt like it was all over the place. The author was trying to build mystery but it felt forced. Eventually I didn't even care why the crazy things that were happening, happened. It was so complex but didn't really ever come together. And the fantastical aspects were not described well enough to draw a clear picture. In the end, a lot of the mysteries still didn't make sense or come together. "
— Kristina, 1/8/2014 -
" I have heard some good things about this book, and our library got multiple copies. I never connected with Jack or any of the characters in the book. Good vs. evil...and we're all a combination of the two. "
— Julie, 12/24/2013 -
" FINALLY, its good "
— Caroline, 12/23/2013 -
" I didn't really like this one. "
— Kathleen, 12/6/2013 -
" Intriguing set up. Not worth the effort. Disappointing (confusing) ending. "
— Vince, 12/2/2013 -
" This book kept me guessing so it kept me reading. I think it is difficult to discuss without giving things away. Sometimes I wondered if it would be a bit frustrating for a young reader to be kept waiting so long for things to be explained, but that was certainly part of why it was compelling. "
— Crystal, 8/17/2013 -
" a little slow at times, but I think he had to do that to catch all the layers of this story. nice modern day fairy tale style. enjoyed it! "
— Serina, 7/29/2013 -
" I had a hard time following Jack at the beginning, but the vines started coming together after a bit. :) This was one of those books where I think about the author and would love to sit and visit to find out how they think of these kinds of story lines. "
— Barbara, 7/4/2013 -
" This was a Young Adult book that I picked up at the ALA conf in San Diego in Jan so it was a very easy read. Mildly entertaining story but I'm not really the target audience for it! "
— Kathi, 3/2/2013 -
" omg! loved. this. book!!! "
— Linda, 1/29/2013 -
" Loved it, finished it up in one night. I had picked it up to read with my daughter and ended up reading the entire book on my own. "
— Holly, 7/22/2012 -
" I can see why this got Newbery buzz. "
— April, 6/26/2012
About Kelly Barnhill
Kelly Barnhill is the author of four novels, including The Girl Who Drank the Moon, winner of the 2017 John Newbery Medal for the year’s most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. She is also the winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Parents’ Choice Gold Award, and the Texas Library Association Bluebonnet Award and has been a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award, the SFWA Andre Norton Award, and the PEN/USA literary prize.
About Luke Daniels
Luke Daniels, winner of sixteen AudioFile Earphones Awards and a finalist for the Audie Award for best narration, is a narrator whose many audiobook credits range from action and suspense to young-adult fiction. His background is in classical theater and film, and he has performed at repertory theaters around the country.